Colts Cut Veteran Linebacker Sean Spence
By Andrew Ites
There will be a cascade of cuts for the Colts over the next 24 hours or so, and it begins with veteran linebacker Sean Spence.
The Colts were looking to bring in some experience at the linebacker position this offseason to pair with some of their young LB’s.
Sean Spence played well in Tennessee last season, so general manager Chris Ballard decided to bring him in as one of his first free agent acquisitions.
Ballard signed Spence to a one-year $2.5 million contract to see if he could earn a spot as one of Indianapolis’ starting linebackers, but the Colts were unimpressed with his performance this preseason and have decided to cut him as they move towards their 53-man roster.
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The Colts gave him a $750,000 signing bonus this offseason, but other than that they don’t lose any cap room by cutting him.
Spence’s release signals that the Colts have some confidence in their young corps of linebackers.
Antonio Morrison and Jon Bostic are listed as the starters on the Rotoworld depth chart, but Colts fans can expect to see a lot of Edwin Jackson and Anthony Walker Jr in the rotation.
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Each one of Indianapolis’ top-four linebackers are 26 years of age or younger, and they’ll have plenty of time to develop alongside some of the Colts’ other young talented defenders.
If you want to look big-picture, Spence’s cut could mean the Colts are looking forward a bit to 2018. Spence would definitely help their defense this year, but they might be thinking of building towards next year when Andrew Luck is fully healthy.